Once Upon A December
by Pandora147
Summary: "Someone holds me safe and warm, horses dance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memory, and a song someone sings, once upon a December." A series of ficlets about Troy and Gabriella through the years in their favorite month of the year.
1. 2022

**ONCE UPON A DECEMBER**

**2022 – Christmas Eve**

"Gabriella, stop fussing about. Everything is perfect. Come eat Santa's cookies with us," Troy coaxed.

It was a perfect Christmas scene in the humble Queens townhouse that was home to Troy and Gabriella Bolton and their family. Gabriella looked back lovingly at her husband, who sat in the middle of the couch with his mother to one side of him. He patted the empty spot beside him and looked imploringly at her. She had been a machine over the last few days in preparation for hosting their very first Christmas for the family. All three of Lucille, Jack and Maria had arrived the night before into LaGuardia. She'd been frantically scrubbing, cleaning, preparing for their visit, cooking, getting dinner ready, wrapping presents and along with that, doing all the usual things that came with being the 'stay at home' portion of the parenting duo that she and Troy had become. She'd wanted to be more prepared, but when you have two kids under the age of three, time would tend to get overtaken by feeding time, nap time, bath time, nappy time and play time.

Despite the challenges, it all had come together beautifully, and she had just finished placing Santa's gifts underneath the tree, meticulously checking the they were all wrapped in different paper and that the hand writing appeared differently than on the presents from 'Mommy and Daddy.'

"Sweetheart, you do realise that Josh is only three? I hardly think he's going to figure out the rouse, not just yet," Maria Montez chuckled from where she was seated in one of the arm chairs.

Maria had found herself setting into the life of being 'Abuelita' quite well, and was nestled with a pair of knitting needles and a ball of purple wool, in the midst of a pair of booties for the littlest of the Bolton clan, Sophia.

"Then again, the kid does seem to have inherited his mothers brains," Jack pointed out wryly.

"Yep, definitely didn't come from me," Troy added, and they all laughed gently, aware to keep the noise down from the sleeping children not too far away.

"I just want it all to be perfect," Gabriella sighed. "The last year Josh has grown from being a little baby into a real little person, you know? This might be the first Christmas that he has memories from. Obviously Sophia won't remember any of it but it's still her first Christmas so it's important we get it right."

"This is how she got through law school in four years while working full time. Sheer perfectionism and determination," Troy observed. "Sit down or I'll return all the presents I got for you. The kids will have piles of wrapping paper around them and you'll be empty handed."

She pouted her lip but decided to give in, sitting on the sofa and relaxing into his side. She accepted the cookie that he held out to her and took a bite.

"Look around you, babe. It is perfect, right here like this. We're all ridiculously full from the delicious dinner, everything that can be prepped for brunch tomorrow is done, the tree is amazing, the presents look beautiful – and most importantly, we're all here together."

"Gabriella's always been a little controlling about the holidays," Maria pointed out. "I distinctly remember the year that I trimmed the tree without her – all hell broke loose, she flew into her room in an adolescent huff and I had to take it all down so we could do it together."

"I just like the holidays! And it's special to be able to share it with our kids and family," Gabriella said, squeezing Troy's leg and looking around at her mom and his parents. "I have great memories from the holidays, all about that day where you put up the tree, when holiday music starts playing in the stores, rushing around the week before Christmas for last minute gifts."

"I remember in freshman year when you spent hours meticulously cutting out green cardboard to make a 'tree' to stick on the wall in your dorm room, and then coloured card to make baubles and everything," Troy chuckled.

"You've come a long way from there," Jack laughed, gesturing around the room at the tree, lights in the window and other decorative items around the room.

"When did the two of you become so grown up, hosting your own Christmas, practically kicking your mom's out of the kitchen to look after the food yourself," Lucille pondered, a bit of nostalgia in her voice.

"I ask myself that question regularly," Troy chuckled. "Sometimes it feels like Gabriella is the grown up and she's just dragging me along for the ride."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Hardly."

As though to prove her point, the sound of whimpering sounded from the baby monitor that was resting on the coffee table. Troy was the first to his feet, taking a moment to lean over to press a kiss to Gabriella's forehead and murmur, "I've got her, stay sitting." He had the routine down pat, on the way in to the nursery, taking one of the pre prepared formula bottles from the fridge and popping it into the microwave. Gabriella was still breast feeding but they were in the process of weaning Sophia off the breast feeding in preparation for Gabriella to return to part-time work in the new year.

"Like clockwork, she is," Gabriella observed with a sigh.

"Is this the last feed until morning?" Jack asked.

"She's getting there. Most nights she's now sleeping through, but sometimes she stirs at about 2am. But it's always 6am on the dot for the morning feed," Gabriella answered. "Which doesn't matter too much, Troy gets up then anyway, whether it's a week day or not."

"Every once in a while, I'd love to sleep in," Troy's voice came as he came back into the living area. He had Baby Sophia cradled in an arm, suckling on her bottle contently. "But now it's just habit to do that morning feed. It's our routine. It works pretty well – Sophia is usually back to sleep just as Josh starts to stir in the morning."

"He was so surprised to see me in his room this morning," Maria chuckled. She was bunking in Josh's room on a futon.

"Are you sure you don't want us to move Sophia in with us?" Troy asked his parents, concerned. He'd suggested putting Sophia with them so that Lucille and Jack could have a private room, rather than sleeping on a fold out mattress in the living room.

Lucille shook her head. "Absolutely not. Keep the kids in their usual routines. In fact..." she snatched up the receiver of the baby monitor that was on the coffee table. "I'm putting myself on baby duty tonight."

"Lucy that's sweet, but totally unnecessary," Gabriella protested, but she knew all too well that the protest was fruitless.

"Darling, just don't bother. You know this is why you have the grandparents come visit, gives you a break," Maria pointed out with a wink.

"If we move into a bigger house, think you'll stay longer then?" Troy joked.

Troy and Gabriella stayed up with their parents for another two hours – far later than what had become the new bedtime she and Troy were accustomed to. Their parents were still on Mountain time and it was only when Gabriella started blatantly yawning that Jack encouraged Troy and Gabriella to whisk themselves off to bed.

After washing up and brushing their teeth, Gabriella slipped on an old Stanford t-shirt and Troy stripped down to his briefs, the couple settling into bed together. As the years had gone on, they were still very passionate about each other, but between childbirth and having kids and the exhaustion that came with it, there were many nights that would pass without making love – however they would always cuddle up tight, kiss and share some intimacy. Gabriella knew that what she and Troy had was rare – she had friends from school and college who were similarly married with a couple of kids and she knew that some of them had completely lost that intimacy from their relationships.

"Sixteenth Christmas of knowing you," Troy murmured into her ear as he nestled into his wife from behind.

"In one week it'll be sixteen years to the day since we met," Gabriella pointed out with a smile, her hands rubbing over his strong arms that surrounded her. "You're sexier than ever, and I'm this old frumpy..."

"Ssshhhhh," Troy admonished her. He knew that she often felt self-conscious about her post pregnancy body, but he found it sexy, and he would keep telling her until it resonated. "You're more beautiful than ever."

"You just love my breasts. They'll reshape soon, you know, as I stop breastfeeding. Back to being saggy..."

He very blatantly cupped her breasts, squeezing them. "Beautiful no matter what."

They fell quiet for a moment, and Gabriella shuffled around, turning to face him. Their faces were just inches apart. "I love Christmas so much, and a huge part of that is because of all the memories I have from the last sixteen years with you."

"We do have lots of good memories," he said, thinking back in flashes to all of the Christmases they'd spent together. "And a couple of shitty ones thrown in."

"Mostly good though," she said, with a contented smile.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Merry Christmas."


	2. 2012

**2012**

"What about this one?" Troy asked. "The white is pretty cool. Like a white Christmas."

Gabriella circled the display tree, examining the branches. "Nope. Don't like the white."

Troy rubbed his eyes blearily. They'd been walking around in the store for more than forty five minutes, looking at tree after tree that looked pretty much identical. Troy had grown up with having a live tree in his house but Gabriella felt quite strongly about Christmas tree farms being bad for the environment, plus she tended to sneeze around live trees, so he was happy to adapt to the artificial tree for their first time being grown ups and having their very own tree.

He had been happy, at least. After forty five minutes of examining identical green plastic trees, his patience was wearing thin.

"Babe, once we cover it in tinsel and ornaments and lights, whichever one you pick is gonna be gorgeous. We've got so much to do today, can we just pick one so we can move onto the decorations?" he asked imploringly.

She rolled her eyes. "I wanted to leave an hour earlier, but you were too busy playing video games."

"Is this what living together is all about? You telling me 'I told you so'?"

They'd moved in together six months earlier, just as Gabriella was about to start law school in the evenings, while working as an assistant in a law office during the day. Troy was working as research assistant for a local news station in the sports division. Their combined salary was just enough to allow them to move into a shabby one bedroom apartment in Palo Alto – a nice area, but in a fairly run down apartment block right near the train tracks. It meant she was close to work and school, and for him, he was close to the Caltrain station where he would commute into San Francisco each day.

In October, Gabriella started putting some money away each week from their budget to prepare for holiday expenses. Troy thought it was a little impractical – they weren't actually going to be there for the holiday itself, so spending money on a lavish tree and decorations seemed somewhat redundant. However he knew that Gabriella loved the holidays and so, he caved, and was there with her for the adventure.

"This one," Gabriella declared, standing in front of a tree that looked pretty much identical to the last twelve they'd examined.

"That one looks amazing," Troy said, mustering as much enthusiasm as he could.

"Wait no..." He gave her a look, and she sighed. "Okay, yes, this one."

He couldn't resist but make a small fist pump. "Perfect. Let's make this happen."

He quickly located the box that matched the display tree before she could change her mind, and hauled it into their shopping cart.

"Now, let's go look at tinsel."

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose. "I hate tinsel."

Troy closed his eyes wearily. He sensed it was going to be a very long afternoon.

Eight very long hours later, Troy and Gabriella were curled up together on the small two seater couch they'd picked up second hand from Craigslist, the product of the shopping madness and following hard work. Half empty glasses of eggnog were lying on the coffee table, and Miracle on 34th Street was playing on television. It was Gabriella's favourite holiday movie – the 90's version, she would emphasise to anyone who was mistaken, because she felt like she'd grown up with Mara Wilson. Troy couldn't help but pander to her love of the holidays – the contented smile on her face made it all worthwhile.

"You're watching me instead of the movie," she murmured.

He grinned. "Busted."

He turned to look at the television, managing to pay attention for the remaining fifteen minutes. When the end credits were rolling, he turned back to look at her, seeing a glint of a happy tear in her eye, and he held back a laugh.

"You're so adorable. How many times have you seen this now?"

She smiled, contemplating the question. "At least fifteen times. One year I remember watching it every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day."

The credits of the DVD had finished rolling, with the DVD main title screen shining on the screen. Gabriella reached out to flip the television off.

"Thank you for watching it with me. I thought after made you watch it with me in senior year that you'd never do it again," she giggled.

"Well, you know, I figure you sit through enough basketball for me, it's the least I can do to return the favour."

She smiled, and glanced around the room. "We did an awesome job today. I love our tree, and all the ornaments. They were pretty cheap though, I bet they won't last long."

"It's an excuse for you to buy more next year," Troy pointed out with a smile.

"This is true."

"You know my parents have Christmas ornaments from before I was born," he revealed. "Not many, but there's a handful kicking around in that old assorted box."

"Really?"

"Really. I love our tree at home. It's kind of randomly mismatched in places, but that's because my mom can't let go of old ornaments. She'll keep all the ones that she gets given over the years. She only likes to put even numbers on the tree – so if there were six silver baubles and one breaks, she'll only put up four. So over the years, as they break and go missing, she'll buy new ones, but keep the old ones, and so it goes on. But it all tells a story."

"Maybe we'll do that?"

"Maybe. I can just imagine you're going to need a real Christmas closet," Troy joked.

"Hey!" she pretended to be offended, thwacking him on the arm gently.

"Hey now, you know that I love how much you love the holidays."

"Don't you love them too?"

"I do, but not like you. This has been kinda cool, watching you today, running around like a kid in a candy store."

"Aha!" she declared triumphantly. "I knew you loved today."

"Parts," he conceded. "In between the nightmare, there were redeeming moments."

"When we found the last remaining packet of decent looking silver baubles hidden behind the tacky gold ones?"

He laughed, and then turned serious. "That was one of them, not because I so badly wanted silver baubles, but because you did, and you were happy when we found them."

She blushed a little. "I can't help it, this year I'm even more excited about the holidays than usual."

"I still don't quite get why," he admitted.

"It's not just our first grown up Christmas with our own tree and everything... but it's our first Christmas, with you and I doing this together. We bought this stuff together, from the joint account. This isn't just our Christmas tree, but it's the tree that we'll have next year, and the year after, and probably the year after that. When we're untangling those lights next year, we'll think about buying them this year. And then the year after that, we'll think about how we spent two hours untangling them the year before so why didn't we make sure they got wrapped up neatly?"

He smiled at this, and chuckled. At some point during senior year of college, they'd started talking about the future with an ease that didn't terrify him the way that plenty of young men would be. They weren't yet talking about rings and white dresses, but there was something implied about the future that lay ahead, and it was a future he couldn't imagine any other way.

"When you put it like that... maybe December is my favourite month too."


	3. 2008

**2008**

"We can't wait to head up to visit in February, Troy sends us photos by e-mail all the time and is telling us stories and it feels like we know everyone!" Lucille chattered to her sisters.

"You've done well for yourself, kid, big fancy college and all. Must be nice to be home for the holidays," Troy's Aunt Kathy said.

Troy was slumped in his chair at the table, cell phone in hand. He glanced up. "Yeah, it is. It's been really busy, nice to have a break."

"Kids today, their version of a break is to sit on their phone all day," Troy's Uncle Phil chuckled.

"Troy, put the phone away, it's like it's attached to your hand," Lucille admonished.

"Sorry I'm trying to figure out when I'm going to catch up with Chad." Troy was lying straight through his teeth. It came back to him quite easily, telling fibs to his parents.

"It'll be tomorrow when the Danforth's are here for our party," Jack pointed out, raising his eyebrows. He knew his son far too well, the grin on his face had nothing to do with texting a buddy, and he suspected it had a lot more to do with texting his girlfriend.

Troy looked up, hearing the tone in his father's voice, and seeing the look on Jack's face, knew he'd been caught out. Attempting to play it cool, he slipped his phone away into his pocket, joining in with the Christmas Eve chatter with the adults. His younger cousins were all playing in the den, leaving the adults around the dining table, which included two of his mothers sisters, their husbands, as well as his Uncle Phil. Troy felt somewhat torn between the two groups – a part of his freshman college student self felt like he belonged at the adults table – but then there was the part of him that would much rather be playing with the Nerf Guns that his younger twin cousins had opened as their 'one present on Christmas Eve'. There was a much larger part of him that would much prefer to be taking advantage of the fact that he and his girlfriend were not 32.7 miles apart, but less than two miles apart.

The conversation moved away from his college experience and turned to New Years Eve plans, and Troy took the opportunity to excuse himself from the table. He slipped quietly into his bedroom, quickly withdrawing the phone, smiling at the text which had buzzed in his pocket a minute earlier, and dialled her number. It rang six times, and he was about to hang up, when she answered breathlessly.

"_Sorry, I had to get away. I thought you were going to call earlier?"_

"I'm so sorry, it's the earliest I could call," he apologised. "You know, asking about my classes, ball, my dorm, new friends, blah blah."

"_Yes, I know. I've had the same conversation," _Gabriella replied. He could hear the roll in her eyes.

"I miss you so much," Troy murmured. "It's not fair, we've seen each other like, five times since coming to California. The minute we get to spend time together again, we _don't _get to spend time together."

"_I know. It doesn't feel like Christmas without you."_

"Are you sure your mom won't let you come to our holiday party tomorrow night?" he pressed. "Even for just an hour or so. I'll come pick you up myself."

"_I don't know, Troy. My family is only here for a few days."_

"This is the argument your mom will take. Tell me, Miss Pre-Law, what would your argument be?"

Gabriella giggled, but then paused, he suspected seriously considering the argument. _"I could point out that Chad is going away with his family for New Years so I won't get to spend much time seeing him unless I catch up with him at your party."_

Troy considered this excuse and its plausibility. "What else?"

"_That I want to give your mom and dad the Ghiradelli chocolate I bought them myself, in person, on Christmas day?"_

"That's your winner."

On Christmas morning, Gabriella was surrounded by a pile of both practical and gorgeous gifts, received from her mother, her aunt and uncle, her grandmother. and sent from interstate by family from her dad's side of the family. The last few years she hadn't really been at the major receiving end of presents at Christmas – her younger cousins became the focus – but as a college freshman, it seemed that the family decided to share some Christmas joy and some small luxuries which she couldn't afford as a college student. The few shifts she did at the campus Subway were really enough to give her a bit of spending money which mostly went toward Troy – there was trips to come see him, his birthday present, then his Christmas present. Her cousins were playing with their new things, the adults were in the kitchen organising a brunch feast.

With almost perfect timing, her phone chimed with a text message from Troy – '_Come upstairs' _was all that he'd written.

She glanced around, attempting to be suave, and darted up the stairs and turned into her room. Troy was standing at her balcony, pouting at he stared through the glass. He was wearing a pair of dark grey jeans and a Cal hoodie, with the hood up over his head.

"Merry Christmas," she murmured softly, pulling him inside from the cold.

"Merry Christmas to you," he replied.

They shared a soft, tender kiss, a little more longing than the innocent kisses they had sneaked in her room during senior year. Everything had changed not long before graduation, shifting the dynamic in their relationship.

"I wanted to bring you this," he said, holding up a gift bag that she'd hardly noticed.

She grinned, and practically skipped over to her suitcase where she had his present tucked away, not having wanted it to be spotted under the tree to leave her open to teasing from relatives.

"I'm so excited. I'm normally nervous but I think you'll love this." She took a seat on her bed, patting the comforter beside him.

"This practical thing was tough, though," he admitted as he sat down.

They'd implemented a rule about practical gifts that year, both being in equally cash strapped situations, so deciding that presents could be fun and interesting but had to serve a purpose – nothing completely superfluous. This was okay for Gabriella but Troy found it tough – it meant he had to avoid anything jewellery related.

"I didn't mind it." She held out the small neatly wrapped present in red paper covered in reindeer with a silver bow, and held it out to him. It was smaller than a DVD and fairly light weight. "Do mine first."

He accepted the present, first reading the miniature gift card that was attached, reading simply, "To Troy, Merry Christmas, With all my love, Gabriella." He smiled and then tore into the gift. He was immediately pleased, but at the same time a little perplexed with her choice.

"It's an external hard drive," she pointed out, a little redundantly, as he could read the box and identify the picture.

"This is great," he said, genuinely pleased. It wouldn't have been cheap, he was aware.

She grinned, observing his reaction. "Open the box now."

He obliged, a little confused, but suddenly it all became clear. It had seemed like a remarkably impersonal gift for what he was used to from Gabriella, but what it seemed simply was not.

"Oh!" Inside she'd enclosed a handwritten index – an index to a whole pile of things she'd preloaded onto the drive. Recently released albums, television shows, movies, from his favourite bands, shows and genres. "Oh, this is off the hook!"

"You doubted me for a moment there," she observed with a gleeful smile.

"I... I did not! It just wasn't what I expected!" He glanced down at the gift bag that was in front of him, suddenly doubting himself. "Oh... now I'm not sure on this."

She shook her head, and snatched up the gift before he could continue with his train of thought. He'd clumsily wrapped the present and then, unhappy with his wrapping skills, put it into a gift bag as well. The little tag on the bag had his scrawl, "Gabriella – ILYSFM! Merry Xmas, Troy xo."

As she began to carefully unstick the sticky tape - which he'd put way too much of it on, making it somewhat difficult to get inside - he began to explain his gift.

"I know that you come visit me more than I come visit you, and I feel bad for that."

"It's okay Wildcat, you know I want to come see your home games anyway. Besides... you came all the way to California for me, it's the least I can do."

"Anyway... so... I got you this."

Gabriella pulled open the wrapping paper and gasped, immediately grinning. He'd bought her a Vera Bradley shower caddy, filled with all of her favourite toiletries – the real versions, not the cheap versions she'd been buying that semester. She glanced through somewhat in awe of his attention to detail. He even had the razor which was her preferred brand.

"I thought that maybe you could keep it in the back of one of my drawers," Troy suggested, scratching the back of his neck. "You know, so when you haul your stuff down you don't have to bring your clothes, plus all this stuff, plus some of your books..." he trailed off, suddenly questioning the thought.

"I love you so much, this is so, so sweet, so thoughtful, and absolutely very practical. And this! You got me Vera Bradley! I didn't even know that you knew what Vera Bradley was!"

He grinned, feeling more confident in his choice. "I'm a man of many secrets, Miss Montez."

She returned the smile, and set aside the gift and shuffled over on the bed closer to him.

"You know... I was thinking... your room mate isn't back until the day class goes back, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Maybe... when we fly back to California... I'll come spend the weekend with you?" she suggested with a glint in her eye.

"Don't you have a work shift?"

"Well, yeah, but... I could very easily come down with a cold over the break?" she suggested.

Troy gasped in faux shock. "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" his voice was low, and definitely approving of the plan.

His lips descended upon hers in a soft kiss. As their kisses so often would, it become deeper, Troy intensifying, his body weight beginning to hover over hers as she laid back onto the soft mattress, being careful not to knock either of the gifts off the bed.

"Gabriella, your mom wants to know if..." Aunt Gloria's voice came through the door, but before either Troy or Gabriella could react and move from their embrace, the bedroom door flew open. They awkwardly looked up, frozen still. "... you drowned in the toilet." Gloria's tone turned knowing as she finished the sentence.

"Uh... Hi Gloria?" Troy said, somewhat questioningly.

"Hi Troy, Merry Christmas," Gloria said, somewhat calmly. She paused, considering the scene in front of her. "You've got exactly two minutes to be downstairs. Change from that cardigan into a thicker sweater. You were cold."

"Thank you," Gabriella squeaked.

Gloria closed the door behind them, and they scrambled to their feet.

"Far out, you'd think that being back home and having our own bedrooms would be more private, but no, it's easier to find privacy with roommates!" Troy complained.

"This is going to be like summer break. Your dad roaming around, my mom is taking time of work to spend with me," Gabriella complained, with a pout, as she rushed over to her suitcase. She peeled off her blue cardigan, exchanging it for a Stanford sweatshirt that she had lying on the back of the desk chair. "Sue me for being young and in love and wanting to... you know!"

"Talk to your mom about the party. Please?" Troy begged, moving toward the door.

"I will, I promise," Gabriella said, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas."

After brunch, Gabriella carefully chose the right time to pose the question to her mother, while assisting with the dishes.

"Um, so... I was wondering something," Gabriella began.

"Mmm?"

"The Bolton's are hosting a small party tonight. You know, like, some neighbors, some of their friends, Chad's family..."

"Yes, you can go," Maria answered, before Gabriella could even ask the question.

"Really?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Yes, really. Why would you have thought I'd say no?"

"I um... I don't know. I guess I thought that you'd think that I should be spending time with my family for the holiday?"

"We don't have any specific plans tonight, just spending time together here. I know you... care... a lot for Troy. And you're an adult. Just be home at a reasonable hour – remember we do have plans to take everyone to the Hispanic Center tomorrow, and the Zoo. You're welcome to invite Troy to come along, if he wants."

"Is there a catch?" Gabriella asked warily.

"Like I said Gabriella, you're an adult now. I know it's probably a little tough, coming back home, me wanting to know where you're going and you not just doing your own thing."

"Oh, no, not really..." Gabriella lied. Maria raised her eyebrows. "Well not really. A tiny bit. Just a little."

"Just ask me, Gabriella. I'm actually very reasonable. Like earlier, for instance – if you'd said Troy wanted to come over briefly so you could exchange gifts, he could've just used the front door like a regular person instead of climbing the tree."

Gabriella's jaw dropped open. "Uh... what?"

"Troy might think he's super stealthy, but he's really not." Maria gave Gabriella a look. "Remember, I'm the cool mom, but only when you let me be cool. No tree climbing! Don't make me make other rules. Got it?"

"Yes."

Maria's face softened. "So. What did he get you for Christmas?"


	4. 2018

**2018**

Gabriella was happy to be back home in Albuquerque for the holidays. She was loving the New York City lifestyle that she and Troy were developing – even though they lived in Queens, they were both working in Manhattan, and life was busy but great. However the hustle and bustle was sometimes overwhelming; so it was nice to be somewhere with a calmer pace.

She was in the kitchen of her mother's new home, baking cookies on Christmas Eve. Early in 2018, Maria Montez had met a lovely man named Carlos. Gabriella had been shocked at first – Maria had dated casually over the years but never become serious with a man. Six months after meeting they moved in together. Maria had pointed out that they weren't getting any younger and she wanted to enjoy her more 'senior' years – to which Gabriella would roll her eyes, as her mother had barely a handful of grey hairs.

Gabriella and Troy were spending Christmas Eve with Maria, Carlos, Maria's sister Gloria and the family, as well as Carlos's daughter Ivanna, her husband and their kids. It was a full household, but it was always nice around the holidays. Gabriella, Maria and Ivanna were all doing some baking in the kitchen, in a very typical male/female divide, with the men taking charge of the kids.

"Mija, are you okay? You don't look well?" Maria was concerned about Gabriella, who had been rubbing her temples.

"I'm fine," Gabriella said dismissively. "Just cramps. Time of the month, you know. And I have a bit of a headache, but I suspect it's just the altitude."

"You don't normally get symptoms like these though, do you?" Maria asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

Gabriella shrugged. "No, but I'm also not eighteen any more! Things change as you get older, I suppose."

"That's very true," Ivanna agreed, who was just six years older than Gabriella. "When I was just a couple of years older than you, mine got a whole lot heavier."

"Oh I... mine isn't heavy. It's barely here at all!" Gabriella shrugged. "One of life's mysteries. It's okay, I'm sure the Motrin will kick in soon."

The evening went smoothly, without major catastrophe. Troy was enjoying being around the extended family, who had a blend of traditions with Hispanic they liked to observe for the holidays, including a pinata for the children. They were going to Midnight Mass, which was something Troy had done only a couple of times with Gabriella's family. Although neither Gabriella or Maria were very religious, Gabriella's father, Diego, had been raised strictly Catholic, and Carlos's side of the new blended family also observed the religious side of the holiday.

By the end of the night, Gabriella felt completely exhausted, and Troy had to practically carry her into the room that had been dubbed as theirs in Maria and Carlos's new home.

…

Gabriella awoke to squeals outside the room, and groaned.

"What's up with the noisy kids?" she muttered.

"Santa came," Troy responded sleepily from beside her.

She sat up, and grimaced, feeling a bit of a churn in her stomach. They'd eaten very late, finishing only an hour before leaving for Mass, and she felt that eating that late really didn't agree with her.

"I'm going to go shower quickly," she said, and then gave him a look before he could interject. "_Alone._ Co-ed bathing not appropriate in parents house!"

"On the contrary. There are nine people who all need to shower and bathe this morning, I think we should be conserving water," Troy shot back, however his suggestion was knocked down through Gabriella's picking up her pillow and shoving it in his face.

Christmas morning was all centred around the kids, who ranged between the ages of two and seven – all old enough to understand Santa and make a hell of a lot of mess with torn up wrapping paper scattered all around the living room. Gabriella was watching the look of delight on her mom's face, watching the kids who were kind of like her step-grandchildren run around.

"How much longer until we get another one of these kids to run around the room?" Carlos asked, his question clearly not directed at Ivanna – who had made it clear that she and Sebastian were stopping at three kids.

Troy laughed. "_Running_ around? Gotta be Christmas 2020 at the earliest," he pointed out with a wink.

After they'd all finished opening the presents, a breakfast feast was cooked up – most of the preparation done earlier. Gabriella picked through breakfast, not feeling her appetite, but smiled watching Troy shovel down pancakes with loads of toppings. Some things would never change over the years, and his healthy appetite and yet amazing metabolism was one of them. Gabriella quietly excused herself, so much noise occurring in the room that hardly anyone noticed.

Except one.

Gabriella was kneeling by the toilet bowl, feeling a churn and a wave of nausea and waiting for the sickness to follow, willing it to happen instead of just hanging around. Finally it hit, just as a knock came at the door.

"Mija?" Maria called.

It took a few moments for Gabriella to be able to respond.

"Just a minute," she managed, before once again leaning over the bowl.

She took a few deep breaths before flushing the toilet and opening the door. Maria entered, and closed the door behind her.

"Sit," she instructed, pointing at the toilet. Gabriella pulled down the lid before sitting gingerly, Maria grabbing a wash cloth from beneath the sink to run under the water, handing it to Gabriella, who gratefully accepted the cool towel.

"I thought that fish tasted funny yesterday for lunch," Gabriella remarked.

Maria shook her head. "Gabriella... sweetheart... have you considered the idea that maybe the sickness you're experiencing has nothing to do with your period and nothing to do with the fish?"

Gabriella looked up, genuinely confused. "Huh?"

"Well. I'm wondering... whether perhaps you... may be pregnant?" Maria suggested.

Gabriella sighed. "Mom, I know you want this, and I know you keep saying that we're not getting younger, but..."

"This is nothing to do with that," Maria insisted. "I'm just objectively thinking about your symptoms."

"I take The Pill, religiously. Never miss it," Gabriella insisted.

"It's not 100% effective."

Gabriella sat stoic, staring at an empty spot on the wall, considering this. The longer she thought, the more that the symptoms were adding up. She thought back, frantically thinking about her pill packet – she knew she hadn't missed a day. And as she thought back, suddenly, a flash of realisation hit her.

"Oh, God..." Gabriella breathed, as she realised something. "I was taking antibiotics..."

Maria winced. "And while you were taking them, you and Troy..."

"Yes."

"And he didn't use a..."

"No."

"That would decrease that effectiveness statistic further."

"Oh, God..." Gabriella breathed again, echoing her reaction.

"Would it be terrible? I mean, you and Troy do want a family, don't you?"

"It's not... it wouldn't be _terrible_. It's a little sooner than we'd planned. But yes, we do, we've talked about it."

"Sometimes the powers that be know better than you do about when the timing is right," Maria pointed out.

"You could be wrong, you know."

"I could be. I could also be right."

"I need to know. Right now." Gabriella looked up, somewhat frantically.

Maria thought a moment. "We do need more milk, we went through much more than planned. Why don't you come with me to Walgreens? If you're feeling okay?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes. I'll just brush my teeth. And then I'll ask Troy to go ahead to his parents house and you can drop me there?"

Forty minutes later, Maria was driving to Lucille's house, while Gabriella sat in the car, clutching onto her paper bag filled with five different pregnancy tests.

"Do I tell Troy before I take it, or after?" she whispered.

"That depends on whether you want him with you if you turn it over and it's positive."

Gabriella closed her eyes, trying to imagine the scenario in her mind, picturing it playing out in different ways. The answer was clear to her.

...

Despite the chilly December weather, when she arrived at the Bolton's, it didn't surprise Gabriella to find Troy in the backyard with his father, a lazy game of one on one taking place. Troy was still cocky when he managed to out play his father, who despite having aged rather well, was a little slower than he had been ten years earlier. Troy, on the other hand, had piled on muscle and whereas he was out of practice, he wasn't out of shape.

"Yessss, the crowd goes wild!" Troy whooped.

Gabriella applauded politely, and both men looked up. Troy grinned, and Gabriella returned his smile. She loved how when he saw her, he still lit up with a smile.

"You okay?" he asked, taking a few steps toward her.

She nodded. "Can I borrow you, please?"

"Sure." He glanced back at Jack and tossed the basketball his way. "To be continued."

She trailed into the house, and Troy followed her as she went into his bedroom – or rather now, _their _bedroom, when they were in Albuquerque and staying at the Bolton's. She sat down on the bed, the brown paper bag lying there, which she'd dropped off on her way through the house.

"What's this? Another present?" Troy joked.

She shook her head. "I have to tell you something, and I'm not quite sure how, so I'm just going to say it."

"Okay..." Troy said slowly.

"Remember about... a month and a half ago... when I had that infection?"

"Yeah?"

"I was taking antibiotics."

"Yeah, I remember." Troy furrowed his brow. "Are you okay? Are you sick? Did the infection not go away? Do you want to go to the hospital?"

She shook her head and took a breath. "The last few days I've been feeling a bit off. Sore back, headache, sore breasts, and I started to spot a little – I thought I was just getting my period. But then, this morning, I woke up feeling a bit nauseated... I know, I didn't say anything, but I didn't want to make a big deal. And then, it got a bit worse during breakfast, and I excused myself to go to the bathroom... and I was sick."

"I'm confused. You just said you're fine."

Gabriella reached into the brown paper bag, and pulled out a plastic wrapped pregnancy test. "I think I'm pregnant. But... I don't know for sure yet."

She waited for Troy's reaction. It was very similar to her own – a facial expression a bit blank as he processed, then of shock.

"What?" he repeated.

Suddenly, she had a sinking feeling. "Would it be a bad thing if I was?" Gabriella whispered.

"No!" Troy exclaimed. "Oh my God, babe, no! That would be amazing!"

"I just... I know we want a family but it's a little earlier than we'd talked about. And I feel bad because this is my fault, I should've known better."

"What do you mean, you should've known better?"

"The antibiotics, Troy. We made love right at the end, when I felt fine, but was finishing the course of antibiotics. They reduce the effectiveness of The Pill."

Troy shook his head. "Back when we were eighteen and had this really scary serious conversation about what we'd do if this happened, I told you we're in it together. We're in it together, that's never changed. We decided together when to stop using two forms of contraception. Just because you're the one physically taking it, doesn't mean you're the only one responsible for it."

Gabriella felt herself becoming a little teary. "If I'm pregnant, this baby is the luckiest baby in the world to have you as a daddy."

"Likewise for you."

She took a deep breath. "I need to take the test."

He picked up the test again, examining it. "How accurate are these things?"

Gabriella held up the brown paper bag. "I got a few others."

Troy blinked, opening the bag and staring at the different brands in fascination. "I normally walk past this section of the pharmacy quickly. This is crazy!" He randomly picked up a different brand and thrust it out to her. "Do two."

She nodded, in agreement. He did a quick check outside of his bedroom door, making sure there were no immediately lurking parents. Maria had come in to say Merry Christmas to Jack and Lucille – at least, that's what she'd said she was doing, but Gabriella knew she was going to stall and wait to find out – and they shuffled down to the bathroom together.

"Pee, then let me in," he said urgently.

The two minutes waiting for her felt like ten minutes. The door creaked open, and Troy slipped inside. There were the two tests lying face down on the bench. For a full thirty seconds, they stood, staring at them.

"If it's negative..." Troy said slowly. "Do you... do you think maybe... maybe we are ready?"

Gabriella looked sharply at him. "Huh?"

"Babe... I think I want it to be positive," he said slowly. "I mean... it's not just that I'd be okay. I think I want it. Do you want it?"

She bit her lower lip, then nodded, slowly. "This morning, with Ivanna's kids... it was really quite lovely. I just... we keep talking about waiting for the right time. When is that gonna be? I'm always going to want a career. Whether we wait another year or two or not, it's still going to be an issue. And money... well, money is whatever. We're doing okay. We can make it work."

"We can. We really can."

Their foreheads leaned together, lips meeting for a soft kiss, which was interrupted by Gabriella's cell phone beeping with the timer she'd put up. She clutched his hand. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

He was ready in every way – ready to see the result, and ready to deal with the result.

She flipped the first test over. "Two lines..." she whispered.

"That's a positive..."

She flipped over the second stick. "A cross..."

"Also positive."

"Wow," she breathed.

Troy blinked, staring at the two sticks lying on the bathroom counter. "Oh my God," he breathed, at first quietly, but then it hit him. They were having a baby. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "Oh my God!"

They turned to each other, collapsing into an embrace.

"I've never been so terrified and happy at the same time in my life," she murmured by his ear.

"Um... is everything okay in there?" Jack's dubious tone came through the door.

Gabriella stifled a giggle, occurring to her that Troy's joyous exclamations could have been misinterpreted.

"Uh, yeah, just a minute," Troy called back, somewhat feebly. He then turned to Gabriella. "Do we tell them? Aren't you meant to like, wait until a few months or something?"

"Until the end of the first trimester. But that's to tell, like, everyone. My mom is the one who suspected and took me to Walgreens! She's been out there stalling so she could find out! I have to tell her!"

"Let's just do it then. Merry Christmas for all, you know? We can't hide in the bathroom all day," he pointed out.

They emerged from the bathroom hand in hand, and rounded the corner into the living room, finding Jack and Lucille Bolton looking a little perplexed, and Maria Montez, looking anxiously.

"Um... sorry this is kind of abrupt, but we have news," Troy announced.

Maria knew straight away, tears filling in her eyes, but she held her breath, not wanting to spoil the moment of discovery for Lucille and Jack.

Troy glanced down at Gabriella and nodded, indicating she should tell them. She cleared her throat. "Um... well... we wanted to let you know that in 2019, we'll have another Bolton here with us for Christmas."

Lucille gasped. "You mean..."

"Gabriella is pregnant. We're having a baby."

The room fell silent for a moment, and Gabriella added, "Merry Christmas!"


	5. 2010

**2010**

Christmas Day for 2010 had been an incredibly long day, as far as Troy was concerned. He loved his family, but he absolutely missed his freedom. Now a college junior who was settled into his independent life in California, it was tough enough when he'd come back to Albuquerque and his mom wanted to know when he was going to be home. But that year, he'd been back in Albuquerque for just a day, before he'd joined his parents for the seven hour drive to Phoenix, Arizona, where the extended Bolton family was gathering for Christmas being hosted by Jack's brother Jeremy. Jack was the oldest of his siblings, making Troy the oldest of all the cousins on his fathers side of the family. The closest in age was his sixteen year old cousin Lisa who had zero interest even in the coolest of Troy's college stories. She was pretty minimal interest in anything other than her cell phone and texting her boyfriend – perhaps the one thing in common with Troy, who was also pretty focused on his cell phone, a shiny iPhone that his parents had bought him for his birthday a few months earlier.

A couple of years ago when Troy was a college freshman, it had been okay doing the family Christmas, everyone was interested in his stories, he'd gotten some sweet presents. But now, it was old news. Everyone was more interested in Jack's littlest sister Jennifer's six year old twins who had just started school; and in Jeremy's brand new back patio he'd finished renovating. Troy much preferred when they did Christmas with his mom's side of the family – at least he then had his cousin Todd who was only a few years older, and younger cousins who worshipped him.

They'd done the Christmas morning present unwrapping, followed by a festive feast of brunch which merged into a late lunch. Troy and Jack had managed to sneak a look at the score updates for the NBA games that had been on, however for the better part of the day the kids had comandeered the television with Christmas movies.

In the afternoon the family were spending time together, just sitting and chatting, while Troy sat idly bored, scrolling through his phone checking score updates, Facebook and texting Gabriella as she spent her own Christmas with her own family, in El Paso, Texas.

"So Troy, when are you going to be back on campus?" Jenny asked.

"Um, just after New Years."

"I thought you were flying back on the 30th?" Peter, who was Jenny's husband, asked.

"I am. We're flying into San Jose. Gabriella and I will spend New Years together at Stanford, then I'll head back up to Berkeley."

"Is her roommate away?" Jeremy asked, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

Troy coughed, glancing toward his parents. Whereas his parents were acutely aware of the nature of he and Gabriella's relationship, it wasn't something that they were quite yet at the point of feeling comfortable about open conversion about.

"Who wants tea?" Lucille asked, standing up abruptly.

"Oh come on Luce, he's a grown man now," Jeremy pointed out.

"Excuse me while I hide under a rock," Troy grimaced, and used the awkward moment to escape from the living room.

He darted upstairs to the small study where he'd been set up with an air mattress. The room was tight, but at least he'd been given his own space. He quickly dialled Gabriella's number for the second time that day – they'd exchanged a heartfelt Merry Christmas conversation first thing in the morning.

She answered after a few things, "Hey!"

"Hey you. Do you have time to talk?"

She was quiet a moment, but he could hear some noise in the background. She answered, "Call me back with Skype in five minutes?"

"Okay."

The call disconnected and Troy took the time to use the bathroom, and check on Google Maps to try to find a nearby park with a basketball hoop, hoping he could escape to do some casual training the next day.

When he dialled her back and the screen connected, he could see she appeared to be alone in a bedroom with Justin Bieber posters behind her.

"Cool room," Troy observed.

She giggled and he grinned. "You know I'm bunking with my cousin."

"Is she downstairs?"

"Yeah. The kids got given this new fancy version of Boggle. I wanted to play with them but they wouldn't let me, said I'd be too good."

"Smart kids."

She giggled. "I'm glad you called, it was good timing, actually. And I know that once tonight's game is on I won't have any luck getting your attention."

"Hey now, I've been pretty good today!"

"I want to um... to show you something..." Gabriella's voice turned suddenly shy.

Troy's brow furrowed. "You did?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"Okayy..."

"Are you definitely alone?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Can you look away a minute? Please?"

Troy was genuinely perplexed but followed her instruction, closing his eyes and making a show of covering them up with his free hand that wasn't holding the phone out.

"Okay... you can look..."

When he uncovered his eyes and looked back at the screen, he was met by a sight that was both equally surprising and arousing. Gabriella was dressed in a racy red babydoll lingerie set, the fabric sheer, and the cups low.

"I bought you another Christmas present, but you don't get to play with it until the 30th..." she said, her voice almost a purr.

"Gabriella!" Troy gasped. "What on... I love it but... you're killing me!"

"It's totally not me, is it?!" she exclaimed, the sex kitten tone she'd just used thrown out the window.

"I beg to differ, it's totally you," Troy remarked. "I think Justin Bieber behind you is getting the most action he's seen."

Gabriella giggled, and picked up her sweater, setting down the phone and giving Troy a view of the ceiling for a moment. When she returned, she was back, her usual self.

"You don't want to take that a little further?" Troy remarked. "It wouldn't be the first time we had..."

Gabriella shook her head. "Not with both of us surrounded by families and children not very far away!"

"Fair point."

"I do miss you, though," Gabriella said with a pout. "The last couple of years were so much better, at least we were both in Albuquerque and could see each other for the holidays."

"Yeah, I know. I mean... the holidays are about family, you know?" Troy said softly.

Gabriella smiled. "And I'm your family?"

"Well..."

"I feel the same way, Wildcat."

"My cousin Todd has been with his girlfriend for a few years. This year, he'd spending the holidays with her family. Next year, they'll both be with ours."

"What do you think our parents would say if we proposed that?" Gabriella asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Maybe not for next year," Troy conceded. "Maybe... maybe once we're living together?"

"You want to live with me?" Gabriella asked. "Really?"

"Well.. one day!" he paused. "Do you? One day?"

"Yeah. I do. I could see that."

They both went quiet, just looking at each other on the Skype cam on their phones. Troy cleared his throat. "I should probably go."

"Me too."

"Merry Christmas, I love you."

"Love you more."

"Oh and Gabriella?"

"Yeah?"

"I guarantee you that outfit would've held my attention, even during the NBA championships."


	6. 2017

**2017**

"Can you pass me the piping bag?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure honey. Those gingerbread men are smelling divine!" Lucille exclaimed.

"I'm going to be tempted to eat them all right now," Maria laughed.

"Better save at least one for Troy, he won't be happy if he misses out," Lucille warned, knowing her son very well. He might be a grown man, but he still loved his sweets.

"His fault for not being here to have them," Gabriella joked. "He could've been here for baking day, done all the taste testing, but no, he had to work."

Their plans for Christmas in 2017 were small but special. She and Troy had been trading off between families since the year they moved in together. 2017 was the first Christmas since they'd gotten married and so it was significant for them, and they were delighted to be able to spend a quiet Christmas Eve and then Christmas morning with all of Jack, Lucille and Maria. The event was being hosted officially by Lucille but Maria was an equally big part, the women sharing all duties of preparation.

Gabriella had flown into Albuquerque from LaGuardia on Friday the 22nd, however Troy had been sent away. The last year had seen him do significantly well in his job, and he was now officially the main 'alternate' anchor for cable sports show _Sports Update._ The show was small but had reasonably good ratings. It was on nightly, and each of the main anchors would have one night off each week, which Troy would cover at the desk, and on other days he would film a mixture of pre-recorded and live updates from various sports events. Usually his assignments were in the immediate tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but occasionally he was sent away, and in the week leading up to Christmas, he was sent for an assignment in Chicago. He had separate plans to join Gabriella with their family in Albuquerque, to fly in on the 23rd.

The three women were all in the kitchen baking, ready for the Bolton's holiday party which they were hosting for friends and neighbours on Christmas Night. Smells of gingerbread and shortbread wafted through the Bolton household.

"Gabriella, have you seen a national weather update?" Jack asked, coming into the kitchen.

"No, why?"

"There's a really bad blizzard forecast for Chicago."

Gabriella blinked. "How bad?"

"Very bad."

Immediately, Gabriella pulled out her cell phone and called Troy, who picked up after just three rings.

"Hey babe! I was going to call you soon. I'm almost at the airport."

"Did you check your flight status online before you left the hotel?" Gabriella asked urgently.

"No, why?"

"What's the weather like there at the moment?"

"Well, it's snowing a bit, but that's pretty typical."

"Your dad says there's a major blizzard forecast."

"Oh... I'm sure it's not gonna be an issue. Normally you get a text from the airline if there's an issue. I'm about ten minutes away, I'll call you back once I get there and suss it out, okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

Gabriella hung up the phone and went back into the living area, sitting down at the breakfast bar.

"Troy says that he's not worried. He hasn't gotten a text from Southwest or anything about any changes to his flight. But he's almost at the airport so he'll update us soon."

Maria pursed his lips. "Hopefully his flight is departing before the storm hits."

"And flying in the opposite direction to it!" Lucille added.

Gabriella distracted herself by focusing on the gingerbread men that were in front of her and a piping bag, decorating each one differently. Twenty minutes later her cell phone began to ring, and she quickly wiped her hands on a dish towel before answering it.

"Hey!"

"Hi."

Troy's tone was glum.

"What? Oh, don't tell me..."

"At the moment it's just a delay but... there's other airlines with cancelled flights."

"Oh..."

"This storm is meant to be hanging around all day."

"Oh... what about tomorrow?"

"Well, the flights are already pretty full. So... unless they put on extra flights..."

"Troy! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!"

"I'm very well aware of this, babe."

"I should've known better than to agreeing to you taking this assignment so close to Christmas," Gabriella grumbled.

"It was for work, it was hardly a matter that you could agree or not agree on," Troy said patiently.

"I just... you know... it's our first Christmas since the wedding!"

"I know."

"Listen, let me find out some more information okay? We don't quite know yet, so there's no need for you to get upset."

Gabriella sniffled. "Okay."

…

The news didn't get any better. Within the next few hours, it became evident that there was pretty much an entire airport shutdown with both airports in Chicago. All flights scheduled to land and depart were either significantly delayed – and in the case of Troy's flight, it had become completely cancelled. Updates on re-scheduled services were being held off until further weather forecasts could be provided. There were no rental cars available from a single Chicago location.

Back in Albuquerque, Gabriella was devastated – the idea of not having Troy there for the holidays was completely unacceptable. Troy had delivered the news to her that he was trying to find an alternative route home and although she'd pretended she was okay, he could hear her sniffling at the other end of the line. She kept telling him that his best bet was to try to find a way to get to Denver, Phoenix or El Paso. It made sense to him, get away from where the weather was bad and he should be able to make his way into the seat of a rental car.

The one available option wasn't one that appealed to him, but he decided that he had to suck it up, because he just had to get home to be with his family -and so Troy cabbed it to the bus station, and arrived just in time for the 11:30am Greyhound. It was bound for St. Louis, where he would change buses bound to arrive in Kansas City late that night. From Kansas City, he could get a flight first thing in the morning to Denver – and he was hoping that from Denver, he'd be able to find a way back to Albuquerque.

At 10:30am on December 24th, Troy was weary as he exited the secure area into the arrivals hall in Denver. The only solace was that when he checked his phone for weather and news updates, it appeared that Chicago was still a mess with the blizzard, and that if he'd stayed put that there wouldn't have been much luck. It was pretty much the only solace that he had in that moment. The sleep he'd had at the Hilton Kansas City Airport had been fitful at best, nothing to do with the comfort of the room, but just because his mind was racing with the need to be getting home. He'd had no luck in being able to book a rental car, but all the rental car companies had told him that there was a chance they'd have a car available if they had a cancellation or a no show on the day, so he'd decided to try his luck and then if there was no success, then he'd look into his other options to get from Denver to Albuquerque.

He stood staring at the luggage belt, willing it to start moving around with bags. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind, his vision being blocked out, and he gasped.

"Guess who?"

He didn't need to guess, immediately spinning around and grabbing her in excitement. She giggled gleefully as he lifted her from the ground.

"What on earth are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

She shook her head. "If you can manage to get the Greyhound to Kansas City and then fly to Denver, the least that we were able to do was get in the car and drive here and meet you midway."

"We?" Troy asked.

Gabriella glanced back, spotting Jack not too far away, walking over toward them. Gabriella had practically bolted away from where they'd been sitting waiting the moment she'd spotted her weary looking husband.

"Dad!" Troy exclaimed.

"You didn't think that your dad was going to let me drive here on my own, do you? We had to leave at 4am after all!"

"I can't believe you guys are here."

"It's the holidays, of course we came here, I can't believe you didn't figure that out for yourself," Jack chuckled. He held out his hand, he and Troy exchanging a hearty handshake and then a manly hug.

"That's why we kept telling you to just get to a major city near here... Denver, Phonix, El Paso..." Gabriella added.

Troy shook his head. "I thought it was just because then it would be easier for me to drive the last leg if I could find a damn rental car available."

"Oh, bags coming," Jack observed.

Troy's arm looped around Gabriella's waist, leaning against her a little.

"Thank you so much for making sure you'd get home today," Gabriella murmured.

"I knew how important it was for you... for us."

He pulled away from her just long enough to grab his bag from the conveyor belt, and immediately seized her hand with his available hand.

"Come on, let's get going," Jack said. "Gotta get back for dinner or there will be two very unhappy women back in Albuquerque."

When they reached Jack's car in the parking garage, Troy asked, "Do you want me to drive?"

Jack shook his head. "I've got it. Gabriella did the last half of the first leg."

Gabriella slid into the back of the car, and without word, Troy slid in beside her, leaving Jack up the front alone – not that he minded. He felt glad that Troy and Gabriella were very clearly still in those early days of marriage where they never wanted to be apart.

Within half an hour they were on the Interstate 25 headed south. Jack glanced back in the rear vision mirror, seeing Gabriella curled into Troy's side, Troy's chin lolling in a doze. With luck they would be home by 4:30pm, in plenty of time for their Christmas Eve feast.

It was the holidays, and the holidays were about being with family – and the biggest blizzard in a decade wasn't enough to keep the Bolton-Montez family apart.


	7. 2007

**2007**

There were just a few weeks left until Christmas, and two weeks left before winter holiday break. Maria Montez came downstairs on Saturday morning, surprised to see Gabriella at the dining table, poring over a pile of catalogs that had come in the mail throughout the week. She had a pen and some post-it notes and had flagged some pages. Her laptop was also open on the table, and as Maria rounded the table, she could distinctly see a basketball on the page.

"What are you doing?" Maria asked.

Gabriella looked up. "Trying to find a Christmas present for Troy."

Maria nodded with understanding. "Oh, I see. Any luck?"

Gabriella pouted, shook her head and sighed. "Nope. Nothing is right."

Maria gave her daughter a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder and went into the kitchen. She returned five minutes later with a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and sat down with Gabriella at the table.

"What ideas do you have? I can see you've flagged some things."

Gabriella sighed. "I can think of lots of things he'd like but nothing that he'd _love_.."

"Like?"

"He wants the Lil Wayne CD. And he loves Family Guy, I could buy him a DVD set. Or I could get him a video game. But I just... none of these things are very personal." Gabriella pouted. "It just... it needs to be special."

Maria understood the sentiment behind Gabriella's angst. "You care for him, so you want to get him something meaningful."

"Exactly!"

"Maybe instead of looking through these catalogues, we're better off on a trip to the mall."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "You're going to help me?"

"If you want company. If you'd like me to just drop you off then..."

"No, please come!"

…

Troy was pacing around in hallway, just beside where his mother was doing some cleaning in the kitchen. He had been waiting for the right time to ask her a very important question, and it felt like the right time just wasn't going to come. After a few minutes, it was Lucille who spoke up.

"Troy, is this some sort of new exercise your father has prescribed?"

Troy sheepishly stopped pacing, and instead stepped into the kitchen.

"No. It isn't."

"Then why are you pacing?"

Troy bit his lip. "You look nice today."

Suddenly, it all made sense. "What do you want?"

"I uh..." Troy scratched the back of his neck, and decided on a direct approach. "I am wondering if there would be any possibility of me borrowing some money."

"How much?"

"Well, I uh... I want to buy... this..."

Troy reached into his pocket and pulled up a folded up page from a catalogue he'd torn out, and circled an item.

"A charm bracelet," Lucille said out loud, looking at the picture. It wasn't a particularly expensive bracelet, it was in sterling silver and fairly basic.

"Um... yes."

"For Gabriella?"

He nodded. "For Christmas. And, well, also for our anniversary."

"I'm assuming you want to get some charms as well."

"Yeah. Just four for now. A music note, and a snowflake, and Pi symbol, and uh... a heart."

Troy was suddenly questioning if he'd had the right tactic in asking his mother for money, feeling rather embarrassed. But then her face softened, and he knew he'd had the right move.

"Aww," Lucille cooed. "When did you get all grown up and everything?"

Troy made a face. "Mama..."

"Yes, you can 'borrow' some money."

He grinned and gave her a hug. "Thank you! You're the best." He then paused. "Do you think it's a good present idea?"

"I think I can guarantee you that she'll love it."

…

Both Troy and Gabriella's family were staying in Albuquerque for the holidays. At Troy's house, they had family who lived in Santa Fe coming down to spend the holidays with them, and at Gabriella's, family from El Paso had made the drive. After negotiations, Lucille had agreed that after their family Christmas Eve dinner, that Troy could go over to Gabriella's so they could do their own gift exchange.

Troy arrived at Gabriella's just as they were serving dessert, and so although he'd just eaten his own huge feast, an extra chair was located and dragged up to the table, squeezing in between Gabriella and her cousin Elena to consume another plate of sweetness. Only after all the plates were cleared away from the table was Gabriella able to excuse herself and Troy from the table and they escaped up to her room, him bringing with him the small gift bag he'd temporarily placed under their large Christmas tree in the living room. Gabriella also collected her gift for him, a larger rectangle shaped box, about twice the size of a tissue box. Hand in hand they bound up the stairs and wound up sitting crossed legged across from each other on Gabriella's bed.

"You first," two voices said simultaneously.

"No, _you_ first," Gabriella insisted.

Troy looked down at her neatly wrapped gift – it contrasted to the small present that was inside the gift bag, clumsily wrapped with a big bow and then in a gift bag for ease of transportation. She'd written him a Christmas card, which he opened first – she'd used a silver gel pen, scrawling not just a "Dear Troy, Love Gabriella x" but also a whole letter on the blank inside page.

"Read that later," she said with a blush, taking the card from him, feeling embarrassed.

"No!" Troy insisted, and took the card back.

She sat drawing patterns on her bedspread while he read each and every word of her little note to him – a reflection of how glad she was that he was in her life and how amazing the last year had been. He smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it, in a silent acknowledgement, and then turned to the box. He carefully unwrapped it, revealing a blank gift box, which he also carefully opened, and finally revealed a set of bookends – or rather, it wasn't a set, it was a mismatched set, with one end being a basketball, and the other end, a music note. In between the two bookends was a biography of Spud Webb, a basketball player who Troy admired who was well known for his slam dunk ability, despite his shorter stature. Troy grinned, admiring the woodwork of the bookends.

"Um, it seems kind of lame, I know, but I thought they were really pretty and they were selling them individually so I could mix and match, which I thought was cool, and appropriate. And I thought they might be appropriate in your dorm room next year... at U of A, or wherever you wind up..."

Her ramble was interrupted by Troy's lips pressing against hers.

"I love them, really. And this book too – Spud Webb was awesome, I love watching old footage of him."

"I know."

"Thank you," Troy said sincerely, leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips. He then pushed the gift bag toward her. "Now you!"

He waited nervously as she peeked inside and hid a laugh at his awful gift wrapping effort and the giant bow. However her smile dissipated into a gasp as a velvet jewellery box was revealed, and she opened it to reveal the beautiful charm bracelet.

"Troy!"

"I hope you like it," he said nervously. "I uh... I could only afford to put on a few charms but I thought that was okay because then you can put some on that you like. And I hope you like the ones that I chose."

She carefully fingered each of the charms – all chosen specifically to represent her, and their relationship. The biggest of all the charms was a heart, studded with cubic zirconias.

"It's perfect," she breathed.

Troy's smile grew as he watched her genuine reaction. "I wanted to get something meaningful, you know, since this is for our anniversary too. The snowflake for when we met – New Years Eve, at the ski lodge. The Pi because I'm proud of you for being you, for the decathlon, for the Pi Pie that Zeke baked..." Gabriella laughed at the memory. "The music note because music is what brought us together – and back together over summer, as well. And the heart because... well..." he took a breath. "You have mine."

"I do?"

Troy swallowed, before nervously saying the three little words that had been on his mind. "Gabriella I... I love you."

Gabriella's eyes widened, her fingers clutching around the charm bracelet.

"I love you too," she replied, her voice quiet, but distinct.

All the worry that had been in him drifted away in that moment. For both of them, it didn't matter what presents they'd given each other. It was December, which was _their_ month, and they had each other. That was all that mattered.


	8. 2015

**2015**

It was almost hard to believe that Christmas had come around again. As much as Gabriella adored December – and Troy had come to love it as well – the older they got, the quicker the year seemed to fly. They were back in Albuquerque, spending Christmas with the Bolton clan.

"I can't believe you guys are heading to New York in the New Year!" Lucille said with a sigh, shaking her head.

"Twice as far away," Troy's Aunt Jenny observed.

"I'm excited," Gabriella said with a gleam in her eye. "And so proud of Troy, this is such a fantastic opportunity for him!"

Troy had spent the last few years working his way up at a cable news network. They had a local news program which broadcast in the Bay area, which he'd been working firstly as a research assistant for the sports division, and then doing some field reporting and on-camera work. A fantastic opportunity had become available on the east coast, based out of New York City, to work for a nightly sports show called Sports Update. Troy had applied, thinking there was minimal chance of it happening, but he'd been called for an interview, then been flown out to meet with the team in person, and suddenly he was being offered a field reporter role which was starting in the new year.

"_We_are not going in the New Year. I'll be on my own for four months," Troy pointed out.

"I'll be so busy studying, you're hardly going to see me anyway," Gabriella pointed out with a smile.

"Have you figured out what you're going to do about your studies, Gabriella?" Troy's Uncle Jeremy asked. "Are you going to have to prepare to take the bar in New York?"

She nodded. "I've already started studying for it."

"That's pretty tough, I guess you both figured you'd be sticking around in California at least a little longer?"

Gabriella shrugged, and reached under the table, squeezing Troy's knee. She knew that Troy felt a little guilty about this, but she was not in the slightest bit resentful.

"Troy got all sorts of offers for where to go to college and he chose Berkeley in large part because of me. After we finished undergrad, if he'd been making the right choice for him and starting his career in sports broadcasting, he would've left the Bay area, but he didn't. We've spent eight years focused on me, and now, it's time to put his career first. It won't be of any detriment to me in the long run, and truthfully, I'm excited. Our friends Ryan and Kelsi and Sharpay all went to New York after high school and they have some fabulous stories from out there."

"Are they still out there? Gosh, I can't remember the last time I saw Vance and Derby!" Lucille remarked.

"Sharpay's actually in London, last I heard?" Troy said. Gabriella nodded confirming this. "After that show she was in closed in less that a months she found it really tough to get another big role and I think she got sick of the chorus. I think she met some millionaire and married him."

"Ryan is still in New York, he's actually an understudy in the new Rent revival," Gabriella said.

"I haven't heard from Kelsi in a little while, she doesn't use Facebook much any more," Troy mused. "I should get in contact with her."

The night continued on. After dessert had been devoured, the dining table was abandoned and people began to move into the living room. Troy seized Gabriella's hand, and pulled her just away from everyone.

"Let's jail break," he murmured. "I want us to spend some time alone."

She glanced toward his family. "Will your family mind?"

He shrugged. "Don't care much, to be honest."

"Okay... you're telling them though."

Troy nodded and headed into the living room. "Gabriella and I are going out for a little while, for a drive. Maybe look at some Christmas lights."

"Christmas lights!" Troy's eleven year old cousin Matthew exclaimed. "I love Christmas lights!"

"Can we come?" Michael, who was Matthew's twin brother, asked.

"We'll take you looking at lights tomorrow,"Aunt Jenny said.

"Come on," Troy said, tugging on Gabriella's hand, before the cousins could argue any further.

"Have a good night," Jack said, his tone a little pointed.

Gabriella furrowed her brow. "We'll be back later."

"Oh, you know, it might be quite late by the time you get back, you know us old folks, we'll probably be asleep," Lucille laughed.

They quickly collected coats and gloves and headed outside.

"We could've taken them," she said softly, as they headed out to the rental car they'd picked up at the airport.

"I'm not taking you looking at Christmas lights. I had something else in mind."

Ten minutes later they were pulling up outside of East High School and it all became clear. She grinned, and allowed Troy to bring her along in his escapade. She'd learned in high school that sometimes it was best not to ask questions, and so she decided to stay quiet as Troy produced a swipe key from his pocket, and he somehow knew how to deactivate the alarm. She could deduce that Chad, who was now an assistant coach at East High, had something to do with it.

She wasn't at all surprised that he led her straight up to the rooftop garden, the same garden where they'd had many escapades throughout their junior and senior year of high school.

"Wow, it feels like a lifetime ago that we were last up here," Gabriella said with a sigh, gazing around. "Whoever is in charge of the Garden Club has been doing a great job, it still is beautiful up here."

"Do you think there's a couple this year who sneak up here during free periods to 'study'?" Troy asked with a wink.

Gabriella giggled. "I was always so terrified, but you just made me believe it would be okay."

"Like over the summer at Lava Springs before senior year when I convinced you it was okay for us to sneak in the pool and picnic on the golf course?" Troy pointed out with a chuckle. "I really was a bad influence."

She shook her head. "Not in the slightest. Because of you I got to do the kinds of things that all teenage kids should go through. See what detention is like, get in trouble every now and again. Nothing too serious, but it's like, preparation for the real world."

"Babe, Ms. Darbus's detention is nothing like real detention," Troy pointed out.

"I know but... I still felt like a criminal!"

"You're so adorable." Troy had almost forgotten what naïve, innocent high school Gabriella had been like. She was still a good girl – studied hard, did her assignments on time. He remembered the time in senior year of college when she'd left her notes from a reading in his dorm room – she'd done them over the weekend while visiting – and she called him on Monday half in tears because she'd been called on in class and she didn't have the answer in front of her, and she'd had to say, "Pass." But she'd become a lot more confident in herself, in her body, in her sexuality, and in their relationship. There was no way that seventeen year old Gabriella would have yanked him into a changing room in a lingerie shop for a make out session, however just one month earlier, that was exactly what had happened.

"We have some great memories here."

"We have memories in lots of places," Troy pointed out.

"This is true. And many more to be made," she added. "I'm really excited about New York, Troy. I saw your face when your family was asking us about it. Please know that I'm genuinely excited, I'm not just saying it."

"I know you're not just saying it, but I can't help but feel bad."

"Everything I said about putting you first for once – I meant that. I just... when I think back, I can hardly believe that I had been prepared to move to California without you. I thank God every day that you followed me out there."

"I guess I just knew deep down that I was meant to do it," Troy said with a shrug. "I like to think you led me out here because this is where I was supposed to be, where I needed to be to figure out what I was meant to do with my life."

"You think the Troy and Gabriella who used to sneak up here for innocent kisses would have any idea that we'd be where we are now?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head. "I had no concept of the future. Everyone was planning my future for me and I just couldn't see past graduation day."

"And now here we are, the future full steam ahead," Gabriella said with a reminiscent sigh.

Troy swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Speaking of the future..." He took Gabriella by the hand and led her over to the bench right under the gazebo, sitting her down. "The next six months are going to be crazy, but we're going to make it work because it's what's best for our future. We're already planning our future together. We have been for a long time, even before we really knew what that future would entail. I personally was planning for you to be a part of my future way back in senior year when I asked you to prom up here on this rooftop."

Gabriella smiled, closing her eyes for a moment and soaking in the memory of her teaching Troy to waltz and them being caught in a rainstorm.

"Since we're already making those plans... I thought that maybe... it was time for us to make it official.

Troy pulled out a small velvet box, and bent down on one knee. Gabriella's hand flew up to cover her mouth in awe as Troy opened the box, revealing a white gold ring with a large diamond, with smaller diamonds along the band. He took her hand in his, squeezing it softly.

"Marry me, Gabriella."

She stared at the ring, gobsmacked, and finally looked up at Troy.

"Well?" he said, prompting her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, realising that she'd failed to respond with the one word that was screaming in her mind. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" She threw her arms around his neck, holding him tightly, before pulling back and timidly reaching out to lightly touch the diamond of the ring that Troy was still clutching.

"Fingers crossed," he murmured as he pried the ring from his holder, and slid it onto Gabriella's finger. It was a perfect fit, and he smiled triumphantly.

"I love you so much," Gabriella said softly, tears pricking in her eyes. "I already couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, and now, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you as my husband."

Their lips met softly, the kiss deepening. Gabriella's fingers threaded through the hair at the nape of Troy's neck, and he couldn't help but notice the slightly different sensation with a new ring brushing against his skin. She shivered a little, and he pulled back. "Are you cold? We have been up here a little while."

"I am a little," she admitted. "But I just... I like that it's just us here. I want to spend some time with my fiancee." She grinned. "I like that word."

He grinned, and squeezed her hands, his thumb rubbing across her left ring finger.

"This may sound presumptuous, but I have a few of our things packed and I'd already arranged for us to spend tonight at your mom's." Maria Montez was in El Paso with her sisters family for the holidays.

Gabriella's brow furrowed. "Did you ask my mom?"

"I did. I um... she sort of knew I was going to ask you tonight. I did ask her 'permission' after all."

Gabriella's jaw dropped a little, realising the pre-planning that had gone into this occasion.

"And does your family know?"

"Well my parents know, and my mom is pretty incapable of keeping a secret," Troy chuckled.

"Do you think they'll be dying to know if I said yes?" Gabriella asked.

Troy pondered this, and then pulled out his cell phone and took a quick snapshot of her left hand, with the sparkling ring adorning her finger. He added a quick caption.

_"Merry Christmas, with love, Troy and Gabriella."_


	9. 2021

**2021**

What was once a simple trip home to Albuquerque was simply no longer a simple trip home. In 2021, not only did they have the two year old Joshua, who was running around and hated being prevented from toddling around, but Gabriella was seven months pregnant with their second child. It had been a more difficult pregnancy than her first – the morning sickness was twice as difficult, and the little girl that was inside was destined for a career as a gymnast because her somersaulting was often very uncomfortable. Gabriella was experiencing far worse back pain, her feet and ankles were swollen, and she was overall quite miserable.

The airline crew had eyed Gabriella warily – with her slender frame, she felt like she looked far more pregnant than seven months, and they were clearly concerned she was about to pop. However she and Troy had been prepared with a letter from her doctor obtained just two days prior, to confirm her health and ability to fly.

"Joshua, no!" Gabriella scolded, seeing her little boy grabbing at the plastic knife that was on the empty middle seat tray table. She was sitting at the window seat, while Troy was on the aisle with little Joshua on his lap. Joshua loved to pick up objects, anything really, regardless of care for how small or sharp they might be.

"How many more minutes?" Troy asked warily.

They'd had a stop in St. Louis, and then had to change planes in Dallas, before the short final flight onto Albuquerque.

Gabriella picked up her cell phone from the seat pocket, and checked the time. "They'll probably come through to collect trash soon before starting descent."

Troy breathed a sigh of relief. He loved his wife, and he loved his son more than the world, but he was really looking forward to arriving back in Albuquerque. He was looking forward to doting grandparents to oversee Joshua, and for their mothers who would undoubtedly fluff around Gabriella and tend to her needs.

"Do you want to get up to use the bathroom?" Troy asked.

Gabriella considered this, and then nodded. "Yes please."

He stood up with Joshua to let her out, holding the toddler on one side him while offering his wife a hand to support her as she wriggled out into the aisle. He used the time to let Joshua toddle up the aisle, a few of the passengers cooing and offering their comments on how adorable he was. Troy simply smiled and said thank you.

The rest of the flight went by smoothly. Gabriella and Troy waited until everyone else had departed the plane before attempting to get up. They needed a little extra time to retrieve their bags from above, to hoist up Joshua, and to allow Gabriella to waddle without the hordes of people anxiously jostling down the aisle hurrying her. By the time they emerged from the aircraft they were able to collect their stroller which they gate checked and headed through the familiar Albuquerque airport to the arrivals area, where they were met by a very excited looking Maria Montez who was waving madly. She cut through a few people to greet them, firstly gasping at Gabriella.

"Mija!" she exclaimed, hands immediately going to Gabriella's stomach. "Are you sure you're only seven months?"

The last she'd seen Gabriella, she was showing but with a nice small and manageable belly.

"I feel like it's been three years," Gabriella joked, hugging her mother tightly.

"Grams!" Joshua cried, holding his arms up, his pronunciation sounding more like _Gwam. _

"Abuelita," Gabriella corrected him. She was doing her best to encourage her son to be bi-lingual, knowing it would be much easier from a younger age. However her own Spanish wasn't fluent, it was conversational at best.

Maria picked up Joshua from his pram to cuddle him, delighted at being recognised. She Skyped with them regularly, and Troy and Gabriella kept photographs of their family around in their apartment to encourage the recognition. Finally she turned to Troy, giving him a big hug.

There seemed to be twice as many bags as there would be on a usual flight, with people travelling for the holidays, it made sense, as many would possibly have whole extra suitcases filled with presents and treats. Troy and Gabriella were no different, having both presents for family, for Joshua and the piles of kid related supplies they needed to bring all packed up, as well as their own belongings. Finally Troy had hauled it all onto a cart, along with their carry-ons. Maria took control of thes stroller, leaving Gabriella empty handed. The chatter on the way back to Maria's house was pleasant. Troy and Gabriella had a car seat for Joshua in Albuquerque, which was shared between Maria, Lucille and Jack. Maria was hosting Christmas for their entire united clan. The relationship she'd forged with Carlos had been short lived, the pair having gone their separate ways six months earlier. Gabriella had spent a week in Albuquerque with her mother who was quite upset, although the split had been mutual and amicable.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Maria had said, shrugging her shoulders.

She was happier now, and had moved into a three bedroom townhouse – big enough for Troy and Gabriella to have their own room, plus for Joshua to have a room, the one time they'd all visited.

Pretty much as soon as they arrived back, Troy did an assessment of the kitchen, borrowed Maria's keys and popped out to the grocery store. When he arrived back at Maria's, his father's car was parked outside the townhouse and he arrived back to see they'd arrived and were playing with Joshua.

"Look, it's daddy!" Lucille exclaimed to Joshua, pointing at the grocery bag laden Troy who was passing through the doorway on the way to the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Joshua repeated, getting up to run toward Troy. "Want up!"

"Just a minute, little man," Troy said, grinning at his son. Lucille rose to her feet and picked up Josh, causing him to squeal gleefully. She walked over to her son, following him into Maria's kitchen to give him a hug and a kiss.

"What's all this?" she asked, pointing to the groceries.

"Cravings," Troy said simply.

She made a sympathetic sound, asking quietly. "She still having a tough time?"

Troy nodded. "Very." Lucille quickly helped to put the things away, and Troy quickly prepared a small bowl with low fat vanilla ice-cream and half a sliced banana. Gabriella had experienced more salty cravings in her second trimester, but over the last two weeks this had evolved into a series of sweeter cravings.

"Nana," Josh said, pointing to the banana.

"Yes, banana," Troy said, pointedly sounding out the three syllables. "You can have some later."

Lucille went with him back into the living room where he delivered the bowl and a spoon to Gabriella, who was sitting a little awkwardly on the end of the couch.

"You're amazing," she said with a blissful smile.

"Look at you, Gabriella must have you well trained, you never fetched groceries or fixed snacks for other people when you lived with us," Jack commented with a grin. He rose to his feet, the father and son exchanging a hug and a handshake.

"I like to think I trained myself, thanks," Troy responded. "Be right back."

He darted up the stairs of the townhouse, digging through one of their suitcases, and produced Gabriella's lumbar pillow which she used for sitting on a couch, darting back down the stairs to nestle it in behind Gabriella's back.

"Sit down, Troy," Maria ordered. "Let us fluff."

Less than a couple of hours earlier on the plane, Troy had been thinking about how he wanted to let them all fluff around – but it occurred to him that it came quite naturally to him, like second nature.

He shrugged. "It's habit."

"Sit, please," Gabriella requested, tugging at his arm. "You do too much."

Troy relented, and sat down next to his wife. "Only because you said please."

"I wish you weren't having such a tough time, Gabriella," Lucille said, having settled on the arm chair with Joshua squirming around on her lap. She settled him onto the floor with some toy cars that Maria had located in the large travel bag which they'd left downstairs.

"I hate December," Gabriella said with a pout.

"You love December!" Jack exclaimed. Gabriella's love of the holidays were well known by all.

"This year I hate it. We had some holiday parties where I had to be careful about every single thing that was being served – I couldn't eat the pate, I was worried about cheese, desserts with raw eggs. December rolled around and that was when I started really having problems sleeping, when she started demonstrating her gymnastics talents... or according to Troy, she's doing a figure 8 basketball drill and practising her jump shot." They all laughed and Troy smiled, squeezing Gabriella's leg. "I'm not going to be very fun to be around these holidays, I'm afraid."

"Mommy, shoe!" Joshua squealed. He had been wearing little crocs, however the green shoe had slipped off. They all laughed at him.

"In two months you'll have another one of those and it'll all be worth it. Focus on that, sweetheart," Maria said sympathetically.

Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand, the two exchanging a glance.

"We can't wait."

…

Christmas Eve was kept small, it was just the six of them. Troy was pleased. With immediate family, Gabriella felt comfortable enough to be honest about when she just needed to go lie down, and she was willing to accept help. Christmas morning was exciting for everyone – the year before Joshua had been a baby, but he was now old enough to understand the concept of opening presents, to immediately play with his toys. All the focus was on him, and then the adults began to exchange their presents.

Gabriella was delighted to receive from Troy a delicate silver chain. Just the week before, she'd regretfully taken off her engagement and wedding ring after starting to experience some swelling in her hands. During her first pregnancy they'd remained sitting in a little jewellery box on the dresser. She knew as soon as she opened the gift that it was to allow her to wear them. He also bought her a gift certificate to a spa that specialised in prenatal massage.

Troy was pretty certain that the present Gabriella had gotten him was a book – it was definitely book shaped. When he tore off the wrapping paper, this was confirmed, and he read the title.

"The everything Blackjack Strategy Book," he read aloud, a little confused.

He looked up to see Gabriella smiling like a Cheshire cat. He then noticed an envelope that was slightly longer than the book poking out, and so he flipped open the book, and opened the envelope. There were a few pieces of paper printed inside, which he pulled out and began to scan. It all came together. The first was an airline reservation for the very next day, from Albuquerque to Las Vegas, returning on the 28th. The next was a hotel booking at Circus Circus.

"What the..." Troy said, bewildered.

"Surprise!" Gabriella chirped.

"I don't understand. You want to go to Las Vegas?" Troy was dubious – Las Vegas seemed like the last place that Gabriella would want to be.

"Oh, God no. I'm not going to Las Vegas. _You_ are going to Las Vegas. With Chad."

"I... what? I am?"

"Yes. It's all booked and planned. Chad is super pumped."

"I seriously don't understand." Troy was flabbergasted.

"Troy, you are the most amazing husband and father ever. You cook, you clean, you look after me and Josh. In a couple of months, you and I are going to be parents to two babies under three years old. I want you to go, have a boys weekend, have some fun, relax, focus on you. Drink beer without guilt."

"It's like the opposite of your spa voucher," Jack pointed out with a laugh.

"I seriously don't know what to say to this. This is happening tomorrow?"

"Not only have you trained my son but you've worked out how to make him speechless. You have a real gift, sweetheart," Lucille said with a chuckle.

The parents had already given many gifts, ranging from a foot massager for Gabriella, to a new shaving kit for Troy. There was one final present, in the form of an envelope, handed over to them as a couple, from all three parents.

"A booking at Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa for December 31st," Gabriella read aloud on the piece of paper inside.

"We will take Josh. You guys should take some time for yourselves. Like you just said Gabriella – soon there will be two babies under two! Take the serenity while you can," Maria advised.

…

On the night of December 31st, Gabriella lay contently on her side in the luxurious king bed of the suite they had received an upgrade to. She had a small pillow for her belly underneath her. In that moment, her entire body felt satiated, the baby was moving a little but no gymnastics, and her aches and pains were minimal. Her husbands nude form was pressed up behind her, also satiated after their slow and tender love making.

Gabriella reached behind him, finding his hand and looping her fingers through his, and murmured softly.

"Maybe December isn't so bad."


	10. 2006

**2006**

There was no question, Gabriella was lucky to have such an amazing family. Sometimes her life felt a little lonely – an only child, her father had passed, moving around so much meant she didn't have many friends. But during the holidays, it was always nice to get together with assorted family. Usually they spent the holidays with her mothers sister Gloria and her family. Maria and Gloria were extremely close, and since the death of their mother, Gabriella's grandmother, a few years earlier, they'd become even closer. They spoke on the telephone at least once a week, would sent photographs and little presents throughout the year.

And so on Christmas Eve they were sitting in Gabriella's brand new house in Albuquerque. Only the essentials were unpacked. The family had come to help them with the move to their brand new home, and were staying for a couple of days before Gabriella and Maria headed to Colorado for their New Years vacation.

"So, wonder if there will be any cute boys at your new school?" Gloria commented, raising her eyebrows at her beautiful niece.

Gabriella glanced up from her novel. "Hmm?"

Maria hushed her sister, but Gabriella had heard the comment.

"Boys aren't into the freaky math girl thing," Gabriella responded, before glancing back down into her book for a moment. She then placed the bookmark in. "Can I be excused?"

"Sure, honey," Maria Montez said softly, and Gabriella scampered away from the living room.

An hour later she'd yet to return, and Maria ascended up the stairs, arriving at the door to Gabriella's new room. She knocked, waited a moment, and then creaked the door open. Gabriella had made a good dent in her unpacking – it was what Gabriella was always like when they arrived in a new home. Maria could see a suitcase out on the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Packing for Colorado," Gabriella answered.

Maria looked down in Gabriella's suitcase, seeing six books. She stepped into the room, perching on the edge of Gabriella's bed.

"You know I meant it when I told you that I have told my company that this will be my last transfer until you go to college? That we're really close to Gloria here, that if possible, this is somewhere I'd like to settle, long term?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes." She had heard her mother say it, but she didn't quite believe it.

"I really hope that you'll be able to fit in here, become happier. The last year... you really haven't seemed at all happy. Which is really hard for me to see."

"I'm not unhappy. Really."

Maria trailed her finger over the lettering of one of the books in Gabriella's suitcase. "You spend so much of your time curled up with these books. Maybe if once in a while you came out and looked around you a little more, you'd see that the world can be a pretty amazing place." Maria leaned over, kissing Gabriella on the forehead. "Just some food for thought. Come down soon, we're going to bring out dessert."

...

A few days later, just a couple of miles away in a beautiful A Frame house, a shaggy brown haired boy with shining blue eyes was being visited by his best friend, before he went away with his parents for a vacation over new years. He was excited about the opportunity to snowboard, but his friend was pretty disappointed about him being away.

"I can't believe you're going away for New Years," Chad said, tossing the basketball back to Troy.

Troy dribbled the ball a few times, crouched down, aimed, and sunk a beautiful basket.

"It's not a big deal."

"This party that Marcus is having is gonna be _the_ party of the year!"

Troy grinned. "I thought that party after the winter dance was pretty sweet, gonna be hard to top."

Chad shook his head, thinking back. "Only you would think a party where you turned down the head cheerleader was sweet."

Troy was friends with a lot of the girls, but they weren't really the kind of girls who he felt particularly attracted to. Every time he tried to have a serious conversation with one of them, he felt like all they did was giggle and tell him how great his jump shot was.

"I prefer brunettes," Troy said with a shrug.

"I'm starting to think you prefer your hand."

"You're such a douche. How did you get Kayla to hook up with you?"

Chad grinned with pride. "Kayla is pretty dirty herself."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Romantic."

"I guess it's a good thing you're d not getting distracted by girls. Remember when you had a thing for Izzy in freshman year? You were so distracted."

"Distracted? I aced English that year, because I actually read the books because I knew Izzy liked reading," Troy recalled and grinned. "I don't think there's anything wrong with being diverse."

"Sure. As long as your head is in the game."

…

Eight days later, a few miles apart, a girl who had been living in the fantasy world of her books; and a boy who had the pressure of the world on his shoulders, sat in their respective bedrooms, staring down at their cell phone screens, looking at the photo of someone they'd met on New Years eve who they just couldn't get out of their minds. The school year was just a few days away from starting – for the boy, championships around the corner, for the girl, a brand new school to fit into. And all they could think about was that song, that gaze, and a missed moment in time.


	11. 2016

**2016**

"I don't think it is possible that anything else could go wrong," an exasperated Gabriella declared to her mother and the mother of the groom on December 15th.

She was wrong.

December 17th was the big day. December had always been _their_ month and so, shortly following their engagement Christmas Eve the year before, they'd made a quick decision – Gabriella and Troy wanted a December wedding. There had been some tough decisions along the way, but on the whole, the planning came together smoothly. The wedding was taking place in Colorado, at Keystone Resort – the very location where Troy and Gabriella had first met back on New Years Eve of 2006. They knew that it was a major expense for people at an already expensive time of year, however they didn't particularly care. They gave an entire nine months notice to their guests, giving people the opportunity to plan and if necessary budget accordingly.

Planning a wedding remotely had been tough – on only one occasion prior to the wedding had both Troy and Gabriella been at Keystone together, and she and Taylor had visited together for a long weekend on a separate occasion to work out some other plans. However on the whole they had things fairly well organised. Despite the planning and organisation, as things inevitably would occur around the holidays and in the lead up to big occasions like weddings – things started to go wrong.

In September it had been Taylor McKessie-Thomas announcing that she and her husband James were expecting – and the side effect that the dress that was already purchased and in her closet ready for her matron of honour duties would most likely not accommodate even the smallest of baby bumps that she was likely to have come December.

In October it had been Troy battling with a new managing editor about the leave he'd pre-arranged with his previous managing editor for December and January – with a whole month off for the wedding, and then he and Gabriella's Christmas and New Years honeymoon. Fortunately, they came to an agreement, however it had caused sudden anxiety and stress that Gabriella didn't need.

In November, it was the news that the hair and makeup stylist who Gabriella had arranged to come to Keystone from Denver had come down with mononucleosis, and that they were expecting she would still be out of commission at the time of the wedding.

However all the little mishaps along the way simply could not compare to December.

"Hi Gabriella, this is Candice!" the bubbly voice of the event planner who was their primary contact at Keystone Resort came over Gabriella's cell phone early one morning. Her voice sounded almost a little too cheery.

"Hi Candice, I wasn't expecting to hear from you for another week. Is there something you didn't cover in our phone meeting last week?"

"Uh, no no. I don't suppose you've been looking at the weather much the last couple of days?"

Gabriella frowned. "Not really, to be honest, I've been really busy trying to get ahead in my caseload."

"Well, there's been some really bad storms coming through the area. Uh... I'm just going to say it, there's no other way to do it. The Lodge has sustained some damage during the storm. Only to one area - and it will affect your rehearsal dinner plans. So we're going to have to have a conversation about figuring out an alternative." Candice paused. "Have you considered an outdoor rehearsal dinner?"

"In December, in Colorado?" Gabriella said in disbelief.

Candice laughed nervously. "You're right, silly idea. We are tight for space though... you guys are from New York, you probably eat pretty late, right?"

...

A week before the wedding and a few days away from when they were due to fly to Colorado, Troy was out for a night with the boys – friends from high school and college had come to New York for an epic Bachelor party, since he wasn't able to bridge the distance to them. She was happy for him to go out, and she trusted Troy implicitly. However she didn't necessarily trust all of his friends - with good reason.

Gabriella was awoken by her phone trilling. She blearily glanced at the digital alarm clock, reading 3:16am, and picked up her cell phone to see Troy's picture.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Oh my God, babe! Did I wake you up? I love you!" Troy's slur of a voice came through the phone.

She sighed, and rubbed at her eyes. "Troy. Are you just ringing to tell me you love me? Because I know that. And you can show that by letting me sleep."

"Uhhh nooo. We uh... there's been an incident."

She knew that tone in his voice. It sounded the tone in his voice the day when they'd been home over summer during college, and she'd stood terrified behind him while he had to tell his father that he'd accidentally driven Jack's car into a tree. What he didn't tell Jack was that Gabriella had been a little handsy at the time of the accident, following on from a frisky trip to the cinema.

"An incident?" she said warily.

"Yeah. Uh... Jason was arrested."

...

When they arrived in Colorado a few days before the wedding was when all the little details began to fall apart – their flower arrangement was delayed in arriving due to a mix-up in the ordering; a last minute check of the menu for the wedding revealed that the wrong appetisers had been noted down, and that due to lack of availability of produce, it was too late to change the menu; the night before the wedding it was uncovered that the seating chart, which had been blown up for both the entrance into the reception area as well as printed into the little commemorative wedding booklets, had multiple spelling errors, the bakery had accidentally put a little blonde haired bride on top of the cake.

By the night of the rehearsal dinner, Gabriella was a wreck. She clenched her teeth and smiled through the evening, but Troy knew that she was more upset than she was letting on. A small word in the ear from his mother confirmed this. And then as he sat alone late at night in his room – separate to Gabriella, for the night before the wedding – he saw her late night Facebook status update of, "Tomorrow I become Mrs. Bolton. If we're lucky and the chapel doesn't set on fire."

He shook his head, pulled on a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and an old Cal sweatshirt, and padded down the corridor and up a floor to where her room was on the level just above. He knocked softly on her door, waiting a moment until her voice called through softly, and questioningly, "Hello?"

"Babe, it's me."

"Go away!" she cried. "Haven't we had enough bad luck? We can't see each other!"

"It's only 11:45pm. Let me in," Troy urged her.

He waited, and surely enough a moment later, the door opened. She was wrapped in a white fluffy dressing gown, and one look at her told him that she was stressed, and had probably been crying.

"Babe," he sighed, and took her by the hands, taking her over to the bed. She sat down next to him, tucking her freshly manicured feet up under her.

"I'm sorry, you shouldn't be dealing with this tonight. Your mom shouldn't have said anything."

"She didn't need to say anything, I knew you weren't yourself at the rehearsal dinner. And little snarky Facebook updates don't help."

"I just... I know I was being naive thinking that I could have a perfect wedding. I thought that between me and Tay and our overbearing mothers that maybe, just maybe, we would be that couple who have the perfect magical event with nothing going wrong."

"Gabriella, nothing catastrophic has gone wrong. So what, there's an appetiser with nuts. I don't eat it. Whatever. There's only two things that really matter tomorrow, and unless you're not telling me something, then both of those things are on track to go perfectly."

"What are those two things?"

"Well... I know I'm going to be there. Are you?"

Gabriella smiled, and nodded. "Yes. I will be there."

"Then that's all that really matters. Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

Troy was right.

When December 17th came and she walked down the aisle with her mother by her side, eyes locked on Troy as he beamed at her, anxiously awaiting the moment that they said their 'I do's' and their future began together – none of the details mattered.

It didn't matter that the boutonnieres for the groomsmen froze because they were put into the back of a fridge that was turned up far too high. It didn't matter that she had to take her shoes off halfway through the photos because her feet were already killing her to the point of being unable to walk. It didn't matter that the camcorder that Jason had to take video messages from guests ran out of battery halfway through the reception.

All that mattered was each other.

…

Ten years to the day since they'd met, Troy and Gabriella Bolton were in the streets of Berlin, Germany. The weather was cold, but it had held out and there was no snow. They'd flown to London, then onto Paris for Christmas, and then arrived in Germany on the 30th. The city of Berlin was one massive party on New Years Eve, and in particular, there was a stretch over a mile long that featured live music stages and party tents and refreshment stands along the way.

As the clock struck midnight, the fireworks began to fill the sky with sparks of light and the young couple turned into each other to exchange a soft, tender kiss.

"Happy New Year, Mrs Bolton," Troy murmured by her ear. She could just barely hear him over the sound of the crowd around them, and yet at the same time, it was like it was just the two of them alone.

She blushed – her new not even yet official name made her tingle. "Happy New Year to you, husband," she responded.

"So how does this Christmas and New Years rank against all the other ones we've spent together over the last ten years?" Troy asked.

She considered this, and then responded with three words that summed it all up.

"Best December ever."


	12. 2022 Epilogue

**2022**

It was the day after Christmas. Troy managed to sleep in – a rarity for him, however his regimented routine of waking up early for practice had been thrown out the window once he and Gabriella had become parents. He'd kept it up with Joshua, however with Sophia now in the picture, both he and Gabriella had learnt the ability of sleeping whenever they got the chance to sleep. When he woke up and wandered out into the living area, he found Maria at the dining table with Joshua while he ate some breakfast, while his father was with Sophia, feeding her some baby food. His mother was in the kitchen tidying up, and Gabriella was in the lounge room, crawling around and collecting toys from the floor. Every effort that they made to keep the mass of toys under control was pretty much awash.

"Morning," Troy greeted everyone.

"Morning!" the chorus came back.

"Daddy!" Josh began to wriggle around in his high chair.

"Woah, buddy, finish your toast."

"Do you want some coffee?" Lucille asked.

"Yes thanks."

Troy went into the lounge area, bending over to kiss Gabriella lightly on the lips. "Assessing the haul?"

She nodded. Between presents they'd bought, that Maria, Jack and Lucille had brought to New York and others sent from other family members and friends, they'd wound up with a mountain of toys and clothes.

"It's kind of ridiculous. I always said I wanted our kids to be grounded and unspoiled but... look at all this!"

"We're gonna have to do a cull of their old things," Troy said, observing the scene.

Gabriella pouted. She found it so hard to get rid of things. One of the greatest regrets that she had from the years she and her mother had moved around was that every time they'd packed up and moved, Maria had been fairly strict on what they packed up. Gabriella liked having all the mementos and memories. To the unknowing eye it might just be a teddy bear, but to her, it was the teddy bear that Joshua was clutching onto the first time he'd said 'Mommy, look!' and combined two words into a phrase.

"We can keep some things, can't we?"

Troy knew how she felt about wanting to keep things for sentimental reasons. He smiled. "Of course, some. And there will be lots of things that were Jack's that we can keep for Sophia."

"Hope Sophia likes playing with trucks and army men," Jack chuckled. Lucille set down a coffee for Troy at the dining table and he went over to sit down, taking a tentative sip to test the temperature.

"And who knows, maybe you'll be able to keep passing them down the line again?" Maria asked, raising her eyebrows.

Gabriella rose to her feet, and from behind Troy, shook her head and made a scissors motion with her fingers. The parents all smirked, and Troy knew instinctively what Gabriella had done behind him.

"_We_ have not made any decisions about that yet."

"Yes we have," Gabriella countered. She grinned, coming over to stand behind Troy, her hands gently rubbing at his shoulders.

Troy made a silly face at Sophia from across the table, and she giggled.

"See! Sophia thinks mommy is being silly!" Troy cooed, and went over to pick up his daughter from the high chair.

"Daddy, up!" Joshua insisted, as he typically did, becoming jealous whenever his mom or dad were holding Sophia and leaving him unattended.

"Just a minute buddy, I think your sister needs a diaper change."

"Seriously? I just did it!" Lucille exclaimed. "Here, let me." Places were exchanged, with Troy happy to hand off his daughter for nappy duty and turned to focus on Joshua.

"Hey, how do you feel about being a big brother to _two_ siblings?" Troy asked his son, as he playfully swung him around.

Joshua clearly didn't understand the question, and was just giggling.

"Good luck trying to have another one without my consent," Gabriella remarked.

"She has an excellent point there," Jack said with a laugh.

"But we need to use Taylor's book," Troy remarked, setting Joshua down, and keeping an eye on him as he toddled over to where a pile of blocks were in the corner.

Gabriella gave her husband a thwack on the arm and a look. Taylor had sent Gabriella a Christmas present with a little gift tag that instructed to _not_ open in the presence of parents. It was a book entitled 'Great Sex for Moms.'

Fortunately, Lucille re-entered the room with perfect timing. "Nope, no nappy change needed! I was going to dress her but wasn't sure what you fellows have planned for today."

Gabriella, Lucille and Maria were planning to head into the city to check out some post-holiday sales, leaving Jack and Troy with the kids. Troy shrugged. "Not sure yet. We might go to the park. Leave her, I'll sort it out."

"You want to take the little basketball set, don't you?" Gabriella asked.

"I hadn't even thought of that," Troy said, deadpan. Jack laughed, and exchanged a fist bump with his son. Jack had bought Joshua a toddler basketball hoop and ball for Christmas.

"I really should be staying here to finish cleaning up," Gabriella said with a sigh, looking around at where there were still piles of things to organise and a lot of cleaning to do.

"Nope. It's practically a holiday today too. I hereby declare today a cleaning free zone!" Troy declared.

"Your husband is right," Maria said with a wink. "Come on, let's go, you need to finish getting ready. The bargains are waiting!"

"Yes, this is the best time to get Christmas things ready for next year, it's all reduced to cost price!" Lucille added.

"Don't even start talking about Christmas for next year," Troy groaned.

Gabriella shrugged. "What are we going to do for Christmas next year?"

"That might depend on whether Troy talks you around about Number 3," Jack said with a laugh.

Regardless of what plans they would make, one thing was for certain - the holiday season in the household of Troy and Gabriella Bolton was bound to be merry and bright.

_~ fin_


End file.
